Support for electric sadirons



Feb. 15, 1949. J CRAGAN 2,461,681

SUPPORT FOR ELECTRIC SADIRONS Filed Sept. 13, 1945 INVENTOR. JosEmA. CWAN AT ORNEY Patented Feb. 15, 1949 umrso STATES PATENT OFFICE 9 Claims.

My invention relates to what are commonly called electric sad irons or hand pressing irons.

The main object of my invention is to provide a simple but effective attachment for safely supporting a hot iron when not in use.

Such a device should be inexpensive, stable and as nearly automatic as possible.

The invention is applicable to many commercial irons.

Fig. 1 is a side view and partial section illustrating one form of my invention, the attachment being shown in full lines as supporting the hot iron when not in use and'in dotted lines when retracted ready for action.

Fig. 2 is a front end view showing the invention.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the attachment.

The drawing shows a conventional form of iron having a plate 5, an upper body' part 6, an intervening heater element I, a housing 8 and a handle 9, the parts being held together for instance by one or more fastening devices l0. In the usual devices there is a suitable socket Ii for an attachment cord (not shown).

The attachment I! has a transverse shaft I: which is rotatably mounted in the iron for instance between the upper and lower parts. It has two legs ll, ll, one on each end of the shaft which when in the supporting position of Fig. I, extend downwardly and forwardly from the axis of the shaft and terminate in feet l5, I! which extend rearwardlv. This attachment has an arm I on at least one end extending upwardly and rearwardly and terminating in a counterweighted portion II. A stud l8 projects from the side of the iron in the path of the swinging movement of the attachment so that its upper part serves as a stop or abutment for the arm IS in the full line position of Fig. 1, and its lower part serves as a stop or abutment of the arm l8 when in the dash and dot line position.

I'he axis of the shaft should be located somewhat in rear of the plane of the center of gravity of the iron so as to cause the rear of the iron to tend to rise and hold the stud l8 up against the arm of the attachment as shown in full lines in Fix. 1.

The toe llof the attachment, when in supporting position, should extend forward of the plane containing the center of gravity of the iron so that it will not dip forward from the horizontal.

When the iron is lifted from its support,the weight I! will serve to hold the attachment in either full line or dot-dash line position.

If. when in the supporting position, it is desired to use the iron, it is only necessary to slide the iron forwardly and dip it slightly whereupon friction of the toes of the feet will cause the attachment to swing from the supporting position to the ironing or active position.

When the iron is in the working position and it is desired to drop the supporting attachment into place, it is only necessary to raise the iron and tilt its forward end slightly whereupon the weight I! will tilt the attachment from the dotdash line to the supporting position.

It is also convenient to use the weight H as a finger piece to press the attachment from the inactive to the supporting position when the iron is raised.

The legs ll, ll being small, very little heat will be conducted from the iron to the supporting surface. -The device may be further thermally insulated by the use of insulating material, for instance, by a tube 20 and by leaving a considerable opening 2| in the casing around the ends of the shaft to allow for ventilation. Tube 20 serves also as a bearing.

To operate the supporting attachment, the iron is grasped in the manner natural for ironing and thereby eliminates the necessity for bending or cocking the wrist which is necessary in order to tilt an iron for supporting it on its heel portion and which is tiring on the user.

Such a device is simple and inexpensive.

It is well balanced and stable so that it is not easily upset. It is supported in such a balanced position that it will not tip over when jarred. Danger of the iron falling from its supported position is'therefore reduced to a minimum.

The iron can be easily and quickly moved from a pressing position to a protected idle position and vice versa and so easily that it is substantially automatic.

It is so constructed that but little heat is transmitted from the iron to the supporting surface. Danger of damage to the support even if current is left on for a long time is reduced to a minimum.

As the iron is always supported in a horizontal position there is no danger of injuring the cord attachment as is the case with an iron which is stood up on its heel when not in use.

I claim:

1. An electric iron having a body, a supporting device comprising a transverse shaft pivoted in the body and having a leg on each side of the body terminating in a foot for supporting the iron horizontally when not in use, said shaft having an arm on at least one side of the body with a counterweight, said device being freely movable from a supporting to a retracted position, and means carried by the body and engaged by the device for holding the device in a supporting position and also for holding the device in a retracted position.

2. An electric iron having a body, a supporting device comprising a transverse shaft pivoted in the body and having a leg on each side of the body terminating in a foot for supporting the iron horizontally when not in use, the axis of the pivot of said shaft being in rear of the center of gravity of the iron and each foot extending forward of the center of gravity of the iron when the supporting device is in supporting position, said shaft having an arm on at least one side of the body with a counterweight, said device being freely movable from a supporting to a retracted position and from a retracted position to a supporting position.

3. An electric iron having a body, a supporting device comprising a transverse shaft pivoted in the body and having a leg on each side of the body terminating in a foot for supporting the iron horizontally when not in use, said shaft having an arm on at least one side of the body with a counterweight, said device being freely movable from a supporting to a retracted position, and a stop carried by the body in the path of movement of a part of said supporting device for holding the device in a retracted position.

4. An electric iron having a body, a supporting device comprising a transverse shaft pivoted in the body and having a leg on each side of the body terminating in a foot for supporting the iron horizontally when not in use, the pivot point of said shaft being in rear of the center of gravity of the iron and each foot extending forward of the center of gravity of the iron when the supporting device is in the supporting position, said shaft having an arm on at least one side of the body with a counterweight, said device being freely movable from a supporting to a retracted position and from a retracted position to a supporting position and means carried by the iron and engaged by the device for holding the device in a supporting position and also for holding the device in a retracted position.

5. An electric iron having a body, a supporting device comprising a transverse shaft pivoted in the body and having a leg on each side of the body terminating in a foot for supporting the iron horizontally when not in use, said shaft having an arm on one side of the body, said device being freely movable from a supporting to a retracted position, and a stop on the side of the body in the path of movement of the arm for holding the device in a supporting position and also for holding the device in a retracted position.

6. An electric iron having a body, a supporting device comprising a transverse shaft pivoted in the body and having a leg on each side of the body terminating in a foot for supporting the iron horizontally when not in use, the pivot point of said shaft being in rear of the center of gravity of the iron and each foot extending forward of the center of gravity of the iron when the supporting device is in the supporting position, .said shaft having an arm on at least one side of the body with a counterweight, said device being movable from a supporting to a retracted position and from a retracted to a supporting position, and a stop carried by the iron in the paths of movement of said supporting device for holding the device in a supporting position and also for holding the device in a retracted position.

7; An electric iron having'a body; a supporting device comprising a transverse shaft pivoted in the body and having a leg on each side of the body terminating in a foot for supporting the iron horizontally when not in use, said shaft having an arm on at least one side of the body with a counterweight, said device being freely movable from a supporting to a retracted position and from a retracted position to a supporting position, and means carried by the body and engaged by the device for holding the device in a supporting position and-in a retracted position, and means for thermally insulating said supporting legs.

8. An electric iron having a body. a supporting device comprising a transverse shaft pivoted in the body and having a leg on each side thereof terminating in a foot for supporting the iron horizontally when not in use, the axis of the pivot of said shaft being in rear of the center of gravity of the iron and each foot extending forward of the center of gravity of the iron when the supporting device is in supporting position, said shaft having an arm on at least one side of the body, said device being freely movable from a supporting to a retracted position and from a retracted position to a supporting position, and a stop on the iron in the paths of movement of the arm for holding the device in a supporting position and in a retracted osition, and means for thermally insulating said legs.

9. In combination with an electric sad iron, an attachment having a transverse shaft pivoted in the body of the iron and having at each end a leg terminating in a supporting foot, said leg when in a supporting position extending downwardly and forwardly of the shaft and across the bodyand said feet extending rearwardly from the lowerends of said legs,'an arm extending upwardly from one end of said shaft and extending rearwardly of said shaft when the attachment is in supporting position, the parts being soarranged and balanced that said attachment can be retracted from its supporting position by simply pushing the iron forwardly and tilting it downwardly slightly.

JOSEPH A. CRAGAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Nugent Feb. 13, 1894 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Number 

